New Journey
by Ice Dagger
Summary: Based off of Janglur Swifteye and Songbreeze before the book Marlfox. A warrior that never knew his father now ponders what to do now that he is one. Just a cute little ficlet with family fluff. Disclaimed
1. Newborn

**A/N**: This one-shot is just a little diddy I came up with while really bored in class. The characters were changed because I was told that the original idea I had made me sound like I didn't know what I was writing about. So the story now isn't what I imagined it could have been. Oh well. At least now I sound pseudo-intelligent. Shout-out to my beta, Aries28. I heart you.

**A New Journey**

Janglur Swifteye stood outside the tent, his half-lidded eyes flicking between the canvas door and his footpaws. His bushy tail shifted with the light spring wind, brushing comfortingly against the back of his tunic, rubbing his erect ears soothingly. But it didn't seem to help. He drew in a breath, letting it whistle through his teeth when he released it again.

The great warrior was nervous.

His last season of being a traveling warrior was over. Rusval Reguba would have to go one without him from now on. He was already hard pressed to leave at the end of autumn. His Rimrose was expecting their first child, and was weeks away from giving birth. But his mother Ellayo insisted that if he stayed cooped up in the tent all winter, he was sure to go stir crazy. With one last kiss to his wife, he set off one last time with his old friend. All the first sign of spring, he returned to the family tent. But he could not force himself to take the last few steps inside.

So he stood outside the tent, trying to reason with himself.

The baby was sure to be born by now; and growing already, no doubt. He kicked himself for letting his mother convince him to leave. Even if he didn't know anything about child rearing, he should have been there for the birth. That was the first of many, many mistakes he was sure to make.

Janglur Swifteye was on edge. He was nervous. He was almost to the point of being scared.

It wasn't that he was afraid for the babe's safety. He could protect it along with the rest of the family; there was no doubt in his mind of that. Janglur Swifteye was a brave and talented fighter who could take down any enemy.

What he was afraid of was his own lack of knowledge.

He never learned what a father should do or say to a child. He was raised solely by his mother, having no memories good or bad of his father. He wasn't sure how to handle this new situation. How much should be pamper the babe? How would he handle discipline? When would the baby need to learn of their lifestyle, and how much should he tell it when it asked questions? What kinds of questions should he expect?

What if he made a horrible father? What would happen when the baby realized that Janglur knew next to nothing about how to raise it? Would it grow wild and rebellious? Would the child stray from him and cling to its mother and grandmother, who were better equipped for the task of rearing it?

For the first time in his life, Janglur truly felt fear take over his senses. He looked down at the ground and nervously kicked the path beneath his footpaws, scattering leaves and dirt towards the tent.

"Son?"

The warrior jumped and looked up. Ellayo stood in the entrance, the small fire casting shadows across her fur as she stared out from between the flaps of canvas serving as a door. "Hello Mother." Janglur smiled, though his grin was thin and his eyes were a little wider than usual.

The older squirrel smiled and nodded. "You're finally back." She opened the tent "door", holding the flap out for him. "Come in. Say hello to your wife and your baby."

He nodded tersely, his muscles tense beneath his thick fur. "Pull yourself together Swifteye." He muttered angrily to himself. A grown squirrel like him, worrying over something as trivial as how he would rate as a father; ridiculous. Sucking in another deep breath, he dew up the courage to march into the tent.

Ellayo released the flap and padded over to the fire, adding an extra twig to keep it burning warm. Rimrose turned and grinned, standing to greet her husband. Janglur smiled and opened his arms, allowing his wife to throw herself at him, her own arms wrapped around him. "I'm so glad you're home."

He planted a light kiss on her cheek. "Good to be back."

Rimrose released her hold on him and nodded towards a cradle set up by the fire. "It's a girl." She said excitedly, eyes gleaming with pride.

Janglur gulped and walked over to the cradle, his wife just behind him. Ellayo looked up from the fire, a small smile on her lips. The warrior peered over the side of the baby's bed, looking down at a small bundle of blankets with a face peering out.

Rimrose watched as he chanced a glance at the quiet babe, noticing his whiskers twitch uneasily. She moved closer, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You should hold her for a while."

He froze. Hold the baby that he had been fretting about for the past half-a-day? Surely the child would already sense his unease and begin to push herself away from him. That would be the beginning of the end. He was certain of that much. But his arms still reached down and plucked the baby out of the moss-lined cradle, holding her tucked into the crook of his elbow.

He looked down at the little face staring out from the covers. She had his eyes, he noted. Her lashes were already long enough to whisper against her cheeks as she blinked up at him. He lifted a free hand and timidly placed it just above her head, his fingers reaching down to stroke her ears; she had her mother's fur. The babe giggled and grinned, wriggling her arms free from beneath the blanket and reached them out to him. He paused, looking at her curiously. She made a small cooing sound, moving her arms more frantically in front of her. He moved his hand from her head and it in front of her, just within reach. She giggled again and stretched her arms out, taking hold of one of his fingers with both tiny hands.

"She's beautiful." He whispered, a smile finally gracing his lips.

Rimrose and Ellayo nodded to each other, beaming. "We haven't named her yet." Rimrose admitted, watching his face again. "We wanted to wait for you."

"So, what do you think?" His mother asked, setting a kettle of fresh water on a flat rock above the burning fire, hoping to bring it to a boil.

The babe cooed more loudly, tugging on her father's finger. Janglur grinned. "Song." He said in a soft voice, still loud enough for the women to hear.

Ellayo gathered a few spices together, dropping them one by one into the hot water. "That's not a name, son." She said with a small laugh, watching her son and his new baby out of the corner of her eye.

Rimrose chuckled, walking over to help her mother find the mugs. "Song's a lovely name, Janglur." She grinned widely as she pulled three cups from a knapsack. "She's just what we need. A fresh spring breeze after winter."

The older woman nodded as she removed the boiling water from the heat. "Songbreeze. I like it."

Janglur's grinned widened. "Songbreeze . . ."

The baby yawned loudly, curling up in her warm blanket, hand's still wrapped around her father's finger. Rimrose laughed. "She likes you." The warrior's eyes sparkled with delight and moved the bundle closer to him. Songbreeze squirmed into his added warmth, releasing the softest of content sighs.

And all his doubts disappeared.


	2. Growing Up

**A/N**: Well, the very first review I got for this story told me that I should do another chapter. So, never one to disappoint my fans, I have written a follow-up chapter. Shout-out to my first reviewer, Toobil Streamdiver. You rock hard.

**Quick Note: **A long thin line represents a time change. So we can skip over all the boring stuff and move on to the cute parts. Get it, got it, good.

**A New Journey**

"Janglur, can you feed Song for me?"

The warrior started, the flute in his paws falling limp from his lips. "What?" In the six months he had been back to roaming with his family, he had never been asked to help feed his little baby.

Rimrose pulled a cloak over her shoulders, straightening her frock. "Your mother and I need to go foraging for some fresh herbs. It's been a long trip and we're almost out of everything." She looked behind her at her startled husband, smiling. "There's a plate of food sitting by the fire. Just make sure she eats it." She said before lifting the tent flap and disappearing into the outside world.

Slowly, the squirrel stood up, tucking his pipe away. He walked over at the quiet, smiling baby, who was happily rolling about a tiny ball of soft sandalwood bark on the dirt floor in front of her. He grinned friendly and knelt next to her. "Hello there, my liddle Song." She dropped the toy and burbled an unintelligible reply, grinning toothlessly at her father. "You want something to eat?" She made a motion with her head that could almost be considered a nod. It was good enough for Janglur. "Right then." He carefully slid his hands under her arms and picked her up, strolling over towards the fire. He plopped down, setting her on his knee. She giggled and played with his thick fur while he reached down, plucking the warm plate from the smoldering fire, a small wooden spoon resting not too far away.

He glanced down at the platter, eyeing the food. The smallest amount of porridge drizzled with honey, followed by some minced watercress and carrots. Surely it couldn't be that hard to feed a baby. After all, Rimrose and Ellayo did it so often. He could handle this. He had been learning and picking up on child-rearing practices quickly. He grasped the spoon between two fingers, keeping a free hand behind Song so she wouldn't slip off his knee, and dug it into the porridge. "Open up." He commanded gently, holding the spoon out to her, like he had seen his wife and mother do so often. Obediently, she held open her mouth and clamped it shut over the spoon, licking it clean of honey and the not-nearly-as-popular porridge. Swallowing, she opened her mouth again. And the process repeated. Porridge drizzled on his knee when she didn't open her mouth wide enough, or closed a little too early, but over all the experience wasn't so hard. After the sweetened porridge had vanished from the plate, he scooped up the vegetables, holding them out to her. But her mouth didn't open.

"Song, come on. Open up." She frowned and shook her head, lips clamped together. He looked at her sternly. "Songbreeze, eat your vegetables." She glared up at him through her lashes and shook her head again. He pushed the spoon closer to her face, glaring back. "Open your mouth." He commanded firmly. Reluctantly, her mouth unlatched itself and opened, fraction by fraction. He quickly took his chance and placed the spoon on her tongue. But her mouth remained open. "Young lady, close your mouth." She huffed, but closed her mouth around the spoon. And decided not to release it. "Give me back the spoon. Without the vegetables on it." He added hastily. She grunted and released her grip, letting her father remove the spoon. He sighed in relief and looked down at her. "See, that wasn't so bad, now was it."

Soon after the words left his lips, he heard a strange, rushing sound and found himself covered with spit-coated watercress and carrots.

Song giggled, throwing her chubby hands over her mouth, eyes crinkled with laugher. Janglur closed his eyes, wiping his face clean with his paw. Apparently, feeding time was a lot harder than he expected it to be.

* * *

"No! No baf! No more bafs fo' meeeeee!"

"Oh for heaven's sake. Songbreeze, get back here!"

Janglur blinked as a very naked baby squirrel dashed past him, sliding on dead leaves and loose dirt as she turned the corner to the hide behind the canvas tent. He looked over his shoulder, watching the tip of her tail disappear before looking forward again. Rimrose stormed after the child, hands on her hips. "You have to take a bath. You stink like an over-ripe ramson." She tried to reason from next to the fallen log her husband sat on.

A little head peered out from behind the canvas. "No wanna take a baf." She told her mother resolutely, her bushy tail nodding behind her in agreement.

Her mother looked down at Janglur, who was chuckling softly. "Will you reason with her?" She asked, exasperated with her young daughter's behavior.

The warrior stood, winking at his wife. "Never fear, pretty one." He spun, walking towards the tent. "Why not go inside and make yourself a cup of tea?" He called without looking at her, turning to face his daughter, who was cleverly hiding by holding her tail in front of her face. "Now, where did liddle Song go?" He asked out loud, pretending not to hear her giggles. He sighed. "Oh well, I guess I'll have to play my game with someone else." He watched from the corner of his eye as she peered around her tail curiously. Without another glance, he flipped and began to walk away.

Almost immediately, the patter of her footsteps rang behind him. He tensed slightly, hearing her jump. Shortly after, her little hands grasped the tip of his hanging tail. He looked over his shoulder, laughing to himself when he saw Song hanging from his bushy tail, grinning widely. "Here I is, Papa. I fooleded you." She announced proudly.

He nodded, trying to keep a straight face. "So you did. What a clever girl you are." He praised as he raised his tail slightly, lifting Song another inch off the ground. "I was wondering if you wanted to play a game with your Papa."

She nodded furiously. "A game! I lovez games! What are we playing, Papa? What what what?"

He smiled. "The best game ever. Come on, I know the perfect place to play." He set off at a leisurely pace, his daughter still firmly attached to his tail.

He strolled down the path Rimrose had just chased the young squirrel up, listening to the sound of slow running water grow louder with each tree he passed. Soon after the walk began, Janglur found himself at the riverbank, standing next to a bucket of soap and washcloths with a pile of Song's discarded clothes nearby.

Song jumped off his tail, racing around to look at the water. "This is where we playing?" She asked incredulously.

He nodded. "Of course. First, we get in the water." Song looked back at him, lifting an eyebrow. He sighed softly and started removing his tunic, slipping a footpaw into the water. Grinning, Song rushed headlong into the water, churning the riverbed beneath her. She stopped when the water reached her chin, jumping up and down excitedly. "What now? What now?"

The warrior picked up a handful of water. "Now, we play." With that, he threw it gently at her. She squealed as the water hit her in the face, returning the volley with a long stroke of her arm. Water rushed forward for a second, but quickly died. A few drops hit Janglur's chest, barely dampening the thick fur. He looked shocked, then walked further into the stream, flicking more water at her.

He grinned as she threw herself at him, soaking him with her saturated tail.

Bath time wasn't nearly as hard as feeding time.

* * *

The night was quiet, only the soft sound of the summer breeze rustling the verdant leaves interrupting the insect's midnight tune. Janglur sat on a long rock outside his tent, listening to the night music. A shuffle behind him caught his attention, his ear flicking back towards the tent. He smiled. "Aren't you supposed to be asleep, liddle one?" He asked, looking over his shoulder.

Song stood just outside the tent, rubbing a sleepy eye with one paw, the other hanging languid at her side, partially hidden by the large sleeping tunic she wore. "Can't sleep." She said quietly. "There are shadows on the back of the tent that look like snakers and froggies. And Granny's snorin' like a badger lord with a head cold."

He chuckled at the image. "Don't you worry now. There'll be no snakes or frogs around while you're Papa's watching out for you. Not much I can do about your grandma, though." He admitted.

Song stood her ground, frowning slightly. She looked down at the ground, then behind her and into the tent, then back up at her father. She blinked slowly, her long lashes fluttering against her cheeks, bottom lip jutting out, pouting. Janglur sighed and patted the rock next to him. "Hop up and sit next to Papa, Song."

She smiled and scrambled up the side of the rock, tripping occasionally on her long sleeping shirt. Song plopped down next to him, cuddling into his side, a hand grasping the extra fabric of his tunic.

He blinked and smiled softly, wrapping a strong arm around her protectively. "It's ok, Papa's here." He whispered to her.

She yawned and gave in to her father's warmth and soft fur. Her breathing deepened, evening out. The warrior pulled her closer, feeling her shift and curl smaller in his grasp. He knew that he had already made mistakes. He accidentally let her get too close to the fire once, didn't tuck her in quite right and had her wake up cold and grumpy, even brought her the wrong kind of berry and ended up wearing it for the rest of the day. But she still greeted him with a smile, come rain or shine.

His beautiful, perfect little Song.

Who was apparently going to snore as loud as her grandmother someday, he noted with a soft chuckle.


	3. Learning

**A/N: **I know, I know. I was only supposed to do one chapter, two at most. But I can't help it. _Marlfox_ is one of my favorite books, and I just love Janglur and Song! Don't hate me!

**New Journey**

Janglur Swifteye strolled through the thick woods, whistling cheerily between his front teeth in an attempt to hide his anxiousness. A few stray leaves danced on the gusting wind that made it into Mossflower despite the thick branches. Autumn was almost over, and winter would be upon the squirrel and his family soon. Which meant the deep snowdrifts would be flying in soon. He racked his brain for a safe place to hole up for the winter. While they were in Mossflower Woods, Redwall Abbey was still too far away to travel to before the deepest snows came. And his mother would not be able to tramp through that kind of weather. So that left the warrior with two options.

The family would have to pick up the pace and make it to the nearest bend in Broadstream and hole up for the winter, or try to follow the stream out to the shores and wait out the winter there. Either way, they would have to start traveling lighter and faster. Which would be hard with his young squirrel child and his aging squirrel mother.

"Papa, look at me!"

Janglur's hooded eyes lifted above his head, where a little squirrel walked precariously along a thin elm branch. She grinned and waved down at the stout squirrel, her tail swaying in the wind. "Look at how high I is!" She proclaimed with her arms stretched out wide.

"Look at how high I _am_, Song." Janglur corrected, chuckling softly as her face scrunched up in thought, contemplating his comment.

"Song, get down from there. That branch is too thin." Ellayo demanded, her gaze trained on the little squirrel bouncing about between thinning branches, watching them spring back to life as soon as she stepped onto another.

"I be fine, Gra'ma. Stop worrying. There's nothing wrong with the-" Her sentence was cut off sharply with a strange cracking sound and the whoosh of a body falling through the air. Rimrose screamed and started to rush forward. But by the time she would have gotten there, it would have been too late. Janglur's normally half-lidded eyes went wide with surprise and fear as he jumped back a pace to match her fall and reached up, catching her under the arms and just in the nick of time. Song's eyes were as wide as a hare's dinner plate, blinking as she looked up at the hole she had left in the treetops, then down at the ground that was almost her doom.

Janglur let out the breath he had been holding. "I _am_ fine, Song." He corrected softly, holding her a little closer to his chest.

She looked over her shoulder and grinned. "Yes yes. I _am_ fine, Gra'ma."

He shook his head, chuckling and set her on his shoulders. Rimrose was right next to them in less than a second, holding Song's little paw in her own, asking if she was hurt. Ellayo followed not far behind, scolding her grandchild, worry and relief still etched all over her face. Janglur just picked up whistling where he left off. How could he worry about next season when everyday with little Song became an adventure in itself?

* * *

"It's cold." Song complained, rubbing her arms as she sat in the small opening in the cave Janglur had picked out at the start of the winter season.

"Song, come away from there and sit by me." Rimrose patted the ground next to her invitingly. But her daughter shook her head. "It's nice and warm here by the fire." Her daughter still didn't move. "Supper will be ready soon. Stew and oatcakes." She told Song, hoping that the thought of a good warm meal would convince her to come away from the opening.

The little squirrel shook her head again. "I'm waiting."

Janglur lifted an eyebrow and Rimrose cocked her head to one side. "Waiting for who, dear?"

Song looked over her small shoulder and smiled. "For spring to come back, silly." She answered, rolling her eyes as if it were obvious. "If spring comes back, then it'll be warm again, and we can get leave this cave and keep traveling down towards the shore. And then we won't have to listen to Gra'ma snoring all day and night."

Ellayo scowled and waved a paw threateningly at the young squirrel. "You mind your manners, young'un. I'll tan your hide so hard you won't be able to sit down for the rest of the season."

"Sorry, Gra'ma." She turned her head back around, watching the darkened winter sky vigilantly for any sign of spring's arrival. "I wanna see the shore." She said to no one in particular, pouting at the white landscape that blocked her from the warm western shoreline.

Janglur smiled and shook his head. "Spring won't come any faster if you sit by the entrance, Song."

Song blinked, turning back to face her father. "But if spring can't see me, how will it know that I want it to come?"

"Spring doesn't come just because you want it to. It'll come in its own good time, you'll see." Janglur answered, tossing another twig onto the cozy little fire, watching it catch and bud with a flaming yellow flower.

Song shivered again as a cold snowy breeze blew past the hole and jumped up, running closer to the welcoming heat deeper in the cave. She glanced one last time at the opening, peering out at the snow-covered bank across the frozen river before plopping down next to her mother. "Why does it have to be cold? Why can't it be spring all the time?" She asked, cuddling into her warm mother's side.

Janglur paused. He never really questioned it. He knew the seasons came and went, but he never knew why exactly. Not that it really mattered to him. Seasons came and went, and traveling started and stopped. It was just part of life for him.

"Every season needs a little time with us; otherwise we would take the other seasons for granted." Rimrose explained, softly stroking her daughter's soft ears. "If it was always spring, we would never realize how wonderful spring really is. Winter helps remind us to appreciate spring."

Song stared into the fire, pondering her mother's words before slowly nodding. "I guess so." She conceded. "But it's still cold."

Ellayo pulled a ladle full of thick stew from the bubbling pot and poured it into a tiny wooden bowl, glancing over at her granddaughter. "Of course it is. It's winter, for seasons' sake. Now hush and eat your dinner."

For the first time that night, Song did as she was told without any questions.

* * *

The sweet sound of a soft song rang out through the bare trees, dripping with slowly melting icicles. Janglur Swifteye stood outside his family's makeshift home by Broadstream and picked up his little flute, trilling out the melody to the little song that danced on the freshening breeze.

_Green rushes green rushes an' lilies so pale,_

_Pray sit ye down friend now an' listen to my tale,_

_For the rivers flow fast an' the mountains are tall,_

_An' across the wide moorlands the curlews do call,_

_Dirry wallaker williker doodle rum day!_

"Durrie willi wakka dumble doogle roodle say!"

Janglur's flute playing stopped and he chuckled at his daughter's newest words to add to the end of the song. Everyday she seemed to forget her last verse and create another to occupy herself. Sooner or later, he was sure her mother would teach her the rest of the song. Until then, they would have to make due with her creative endings.

"Papa! Look what I found!"

Janglur's eyes flicked up at the two figures coming down the thin path between bulrushes. Rimrose trailed behind, carrying a small basket full of herbs and food while Song raced ahead, waving her arm with something clamped in her fist. "Well well, my liddle Song. What have you brought for me?" He asked kindly, stowing his instrument away into his belt.

She skidded to a stop, sending a few stray pawfuls of snow over the edge of the bank to rest of the thinning ice of the river. She opened her paw, revealing a tiny white bud in the center of her palm. "Mama says it's a snowdrop. She says it means spring is coming." Song babbled excitedly, bouncing up and down with energy.

Janglur held her paw still and examined the little budding flower. "That's right. Snowdrops bloom just before spring comes around."

Song giggled and jumped even higher, her tail bouncing and dancing behind her. "That means we can start moving soon. And then we can get to the shore. And we can see all the fishes and the big lake-y thing."

Janglur chuckled. "It's called the ocean." He told her, releasing her paw so she could jump more easily.

She nodded vigorously. "Yeah, yeah, that too."

Ellayo laughed quietly from just inside the mouth of the cave. "Gracious me, girlie. You have the energy of a bee in a meadow."

Song grinned at Ellayo. "Spring's coming, Gra'ma. That means winter's going away. No more cold." She cheered, racing into the cave to hug her ageing grandmother.

Ellayo smiled fondly at her little granddaughter. "Aye, that's right. The cold will be over soon." She told her, patting her tail.

Janglur smiled and threw an arm around his wife's shoulders as she came to a stop by his side. Song was the best thing that could have happened to they're little family. They didn't need a spring so long as they had her. For all the warrior cared, it could have been winter everyday for the next two years, and he would barely notice if he had Song with him. He kissed Rimrose's cheek lovingly before releasing her and picking his pipe up again. "Come on Song, let's try out that Green Rushes song again."

The little girl nodded and started before her father could even get the first note out. He kept up with her stumbling words and watched her face scrunch in concentration, trying to remember the words as she went.

"Dullie wakka wibbi dummle dookle ruffle hay!"

But eventually, she would have to learn the words to the rest of the song.


End file.
